magic the gathering

All posts tagged magic the gathering

In my first set of experiences in Magic: The Gathering, I tried to get as many draft mini-tourneys as possible. Draft has many advantages: it helps you to get to know the newer set (in this case M15), to experiment with cards and finally show how much you can asses the potential of a game in a short time. Secondary benefits: you get to collect some cards (which I need now a lot) and to play in an even setting: no one brings his top deck to try to destroy all opponents, including the one that just got into the game and whose collection is kinda poor.

I have been all my life a blue player, and though I have delved into other colors occasionally, there is one thing that always was a big no-no to me: white. For those who don’t know, white is the color of huge armies and protection, which could sound nice, but it also represents goodness of goodness sake. If you need further proof for that, then just see how many angels are in this color. I also feel that I am not quite alone in this opinion.

So, after investigating a lot, including listening to podcasts, reading articles and all that stuff, I finally got ready for my first draft in years and in the newer Core Set. It failed. Most of it was because I was forced to draft white/green, and my hate for the first color just drove me into poor decisions while trying to get blue or red.

The second draft is where I entered more prepared. I discovered that many people were not drafting white at all in the last game, so this time I payed attention to that fact. Two weeks after my biggest fail I approached the whole situation with a different outlook. Using a bit of my Sun-Tzu knowledge, I decided to attack my seven opponents from a side they did not really expect, giving me as a result a deck as consistent as one can make. Three “Triplicate Spirits”, two “Raise the Alarm”, a soldier-spawning enchantment later and some convoke creatures peppered into the pool, it turned out that I practically controlled the situation in all games I played, and ended up winning a 2-1 in global standings, 4th place, which was for me quite an achievement as a re-entering player.

M15 does not lack flyers, but somehow weenie flayers quickly took care of the bigger flyers with the help of some removal. Most of my opponents had to concede at the end that not taking white turned out to be their biggest mistake. Specially “Triplicate Spirits” has an ability to overwhelm enemies in a limited format.

My only loss, though, was a big mistake on my side: I decided to take creature damage, and was left on three life against a red deck: a terrible idea considering that a well placed “Lightning Strike” crisped me to make me lose a game I could have won.

That night a big lesson was learned: first, never ignore a color. If no one drafts it, the most probable thing is that you might be well able to create a deck that is closer to a constructed format than a limited one, thus permitting combos or syncs that can bring some fine results. Always remember that what an enemy thinks as a weakness can be, much to his surprise, converted into a strength.

I hope to be drafting soon and often, since I am terrible in constructed formats, mostly due to the lack of cards and knowledge. But in the meanwhile a good draft can teach me a lot. I hope to enjoy this more while I build up my collection!

Nai ainur raituvar tietyanna!

Posts navigation

Search for:

Welcome to a blog of gaming, movies, books and some history. In here I explore the stories that have carried us over decades, yes, even centuries, to what defines us today. I hope you enjoy it and comment, I am always open to respond!
This blog is updated whenever possible, once a week.